Community Plan 2006-07 Performance Report

Introduction

Community Planning brings together the skills and resources of a wide range of partners to tackle economic, social and environmental regeneration. The Community Plan 2004-2008 identified five themes that reflect the range of issues affecting the North Lanarkshire area. These are:

§         Jobs, Business and the Economy

§         Learning Through Life

§         Health, Wellbeing and Care

§         Housing and Environment

§         Community Safety

The Community Planning partners established the partnership Information Sharing Group to help monitor progress in achieving the aims of the Community Plan for 2004-2008. This is the latest update of the Community Plan Indicators Report from the Information Sharing Group.

This 2006/07 summary report with accompanying spine graph is a simple update of the 2005/06 version. The graph shows how North Lanarkshire compares to Scotland on a range of indicators within the broad themes outlined above. For each of the indicators the percentage difference from the Scottish figure is displayed graphically together with an indication of how North Lanarkshire's position has changed, if at all, relative to the national position since the previous figures were produced.

Data issues

New data has been added for 29 of the 39 indicators established for monitoring purposes. Selected key indicators are presented in this summary where comparable information is available at the national level.  The population base used for calculating rates for the indicators is drawn from corresponding mid-year estimates produced by the General Register Office for Scotland (GRO(S)) up to 2006.

Although almost three quarters of the indicators have been updated, the currency of the data varies according to how often it is collected and whether or not comparable information is available at national, local authority and smaller area level.

Of the 39 indicators, the latest data included in the full report will be:

§         2007 for 4 indicators.

§         2006 for 14 indicators (typically for year ending March).

§         2005 for 17 indicators.

§         2004 for 3 indicators.

§         2002 for 1 indicator.

As well as being 'out-of-date' compared with the current reality, the indicators are also a snapshot. Most people will pay most attention to the last year in any series. The hope is to see positive change. The indicators used in this report are outcome indicators, in line with the original brief given to the Information Sharing Group. This means that the impact of policy interventions now will often only show some years down the line. We need to consider trends in the indicators as well as what happened 'last' year to allow us to say whether we are closing the gap relative to Scotland.

For this reason some indicators which we have not been able to update over the course of the Community Plan are excluded from the analysis until new information becomes available. In the case of indicators relating to dampness, condensation and energy efficiency, for example, data will be obtained from North Lanarkshire's local house condition survey in early 2008.

There are a number of other issues with regard to data validity that we should bear in mind when considering specific indicators. For example, the introduction of Pension Credit in 2003 replaced Income Support for the population aged 60 years and over. This has had a significant impact on the observed trend in Income Support rates in North Lanarkshire. As a consequence this indicator has been dropped from the graph of key indicators. 

In addition, some methods of data collection have changed recently. Under the theme of 'Jobs, Business and the Economy', for example, earnings data from 2004 have been collected using the 'Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings' in place of the 'New Earnings Survey'. Although the new process facilitates the gathering of much more detailed information, this is based on a one per cent sample of employees on the PAYE scheme and is not robust at a sub-council area level. 

Furthermore, there are some indicators that are difficult to present graphically in a meaningful way, e.g. while it is possible to compare trends in the reduction of both derelict and vacant land in North Lanarkshire to other authorities with similar characteristics, it is acknowledged that comparison with the national position is less meaningful. This is due to the disproportionate share of land that falls into these categories as a legacy of North Lanarkshire's industrial past. 

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